Following up my first DIY post with beard oil recipes -and your awesome responses, I thought it would be a great idea to make another beard guide and this time I’ll share with you how to make beard balm recipe with beeswax.

If you had the chance to read through my beard oil recipe guide, you might remember that it’s fairly straightforward and simple to do it yourself. It’s all about mixing the right carrier and essentials oils, shake it and use it.

But what’s the deal with making a beard balm recipe though? Is it that easy?

When you first see one, you don’t think that it’s a piece of cake.

Probably because it’s not a cake, it’s beard balm.

To make this clear, it’s similarly easy as to making a beard oil. The only difference is that a bit more preparation is required and a few more ingredients are included in the mix. In principle, it’s all about mixing the right ingredients at the correct dosages.

What’s beard balm and what’s it all about?

It’s viscous and it’s perfect for beardsmen that are growing a beard for at least three months since their last clean shave.

Wondering why? No? OK, I’ll explain it anyway.

Up to three months since the last time that you saw your face without any facial hair, beard is short enough and doesn’t require any styling. Hence, no reason for any beard balm or wax. Before you reach the three month milestone, beard oil should be more than enough to make your beard softer while nourishing your skin.

Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean that beard balm replaces beard oil but it’s more like a great addition to your beard care kit if you want to soften your mane and shape it while keeping it naturally soft.

Yes, naturally soft as opposed to using beard wax.

More specifically, beard wax is mainly used for styling and some waxes give a bit of unnatural hold -depending always on the actual product. Therefore, the beard balm falls right in between beard oil and beard wax both in terms of softening your beard and styling it.

Why would you want to make your own beard balm?

I think that there are essentially four reasons why you would want to make your own beard balm recipe.

Save money

Most beard balms that are available on the market cost between $10 and $30 for 1oz to 4oz.

Making a beard balm at home will surely save you some money. But this was something you already thought about.

Let’s get to the calculations then and understand what I’m saying.

Say that you want to make the most basic beard balm recipe which requires only a few ingredients. For the sake of argument, we assume that these are beeswax, shea butter, argan oil, sweet almond oil and tea tree oil.

One simple recipe could be the following:

1 tablespoon of beeswax

1.5 teaspoon of shea butter

1 teaspoon of sweet almond oil

1 teaspoon of argan oil

4 drops of tea tree oil

This beard balm recipe gives you approx. 3oz worth of product.

All these ingredients would cost you a total of around $35.38.

At first, it seems quite a lot of money to spend for a homemade beard balm recipe. Not to mention that I told you already that it’s going to be cheap.

Have you thought how much beard balm can these ingredients make?

If you use the entire volume of all the ingredients, you can easily end up with 30oz of beard balm!

$35.38 for 30oz beard balm…

And you know what? You’ll be able to make this amount of beard balm only because you’ll run out of beeswax which costs around $6 per 5oz. What if you get a little bit more beeswax then?

Still with me?

You know what this means right?

If you compare it with a relatively cheap and good product such as the Honest Amish in a 2oz can, you’ll end up paying around $13 for 2 oz.

So, even if you buy the cheapest beard balm that is available on amazon, for 30oz worth of product you’ll end up paying a bit below than $195.00…!!!

Use it often

You may have guessed by now that one batch of beard balm production is going to last you for two years even if you use it daily.

That’s a heck of alot beard balm.

Unless you’re planning to shave your beard off anytime soon, making your own beard balm is great from any aspect you see it.

Sell it

Well, you’ve already produced it. Why not selling it since you’ve made so much of it?

You’ve seen the markup you can make, then why not making some money out of it?

As you’ve previously seen, the ingredients will set you back around $2.36 for each 2 oz tin and you can sell it for around $10 or even more. Include additional costs for filling, packaging and storing and you can have at least $4 profit on each tin. If you ask me, that’s not bad at all.

You know exactly what’s in the mix

How many times have you bought a product that you vaguely understand -or you don’t, what’s inside.

And who can blame you?

All labels show ingredients with long names that don’t make the slightest sense to you unless you’re a chemist.

Most of times, cosmetic products contain also preservatives and artificial smells. But if you make it at home, you have full control of what it contains and it’s up to you to make it 100% natural.

Isn’t it great that making your own beard balm at home allows you to know exactly what it consists of? After all, you’re putting this thing on your face.

Experimentation

Since when it’s all about the money?

I guess since always, but we’re getting off track here.

You can make your own beard balm just for the sake of experimenting. What if you just want to be creative and make something for yourself or give it to your beloved ones as a present. And not any present. It’s something that you put your heart and soul in it. That makes it even more unique.

There’s only one word to say here. Bravo!

What’s Beeswax and why do I need it in beard balm recipe?

Let’s start of by understanding what this ingredient really is.

Beeswax is an all natural product coming from honeycomb of the honeybee with a great scent and no expiration date. It can be heated and reused all over again and again without losing its properties.

It has been used for centuries and nowadays all kind of industries include it in either their production process or in the composition of products. For example the personal care industry uses beeswax as a stiffening agent .

Now for our guide in particular, beeswax is one of the main ingredients that you’ll find in a homemade beard balm recipe.

And why is that?

It’s the only ingredient that will give your beard hold and shape.

Although it’s not the ingredient with the highest concentration in the mix, without beeswax, you simply can’t have beard balm.

As you may have guessed, beeswax is also found in beard and moustache waxes but the concentration in the mix is much higher than in beard balms. Hence, the more beeswax, the stronger hold you should expect from such products.

Now that you got an idea of what’s beeswax and what’s used for, where do you actually find that?

Fortunately, beeswax isn’t something hard to find.

There are plenty of options online and you can even find it at a local shop. Most shops with organic products, normally have beeswax.

You’ll be able to choose between two types, beeswax bar and pellet in either white or yellow color.

Depending on the amount of beard balm you want to make, you’ll choose the form accordingly.

With beard balm recipe making, I would choose beeswax bar for a first small batch and for future larger production, I would go for pellet.

And I explain why.

Beeswax bars come in small volume and you can get as little as 1-2oz. With pellet however, the minimum volume is often something close to 1lb.

Yes, it’s much cheaper to get it in pellets but think about how much you want to use.

Besides the volume, beeswax bar is easier to measure for beard balm recipes by simply cutting the amount you want.

With pellets, you follow a different procedure and more precision is required with the measuring. First you melt it, then put it in a container and lastly measure it while it’s still liquid before you mix it with the other ingredients.

Beeswax pellets

What about butter? Are we having breakfast again?

There are a few butters that are perfect for your beard balm recipe.

In most cases, shea and cocoa butter is used but many recipes might also include mango and coconut oil. Well coconut oil is not butter but it kinda behaves like it when in solid state. Not to mention, the excellent benefits of coconut oil for beard and hair.

Just like with nutella on bread, it’s essential to use butter for spread.

You’re still on the same website, yes.

Butter in a beard balm is essential for its spreading properties so that the beeswax doesn’t get stuck when you apply it on your beard. It gives this extra lubricity that the beard balm needs. Additionally, the butter helps the beard balm melt in your hands and get absorbed by your hair follicles.

The idea when you add butters in your homemade beard balm, is that you add the appropriate amount in relation to the amount of beeswax. You’re looking to maintain an optimal balance between butter and beeswax so that you get the best beard balm recipe possible. That being said, if for example you have 1 cup of beeswax, it really depends on the amount of butter that you put in your mix to produce a beard balm or end up with a beard wax.

Let’s discuss briefly the two main butters used in a beard balm recipe.

Shea butter

It’s a natural butter without any chemicals and comes from the seed of Shea tree.

Shea butter has high concentration of vitamin E and it has both moisturising and healing properties, making it perfect for use in cosmetics.

Carrier oils to make your beard soft

Just like in beard oils, carrier oils account for most of the beard balm mix.

Commonly used carrier oils are jojoba, argan, sweet almond and a few more. Depending on the properties you’d like your beard balm recipe to have, you choose accordingly.

For example, if you have oily skin and hair, it might be a good idea to add jojoba oil since it helps balancing your skin’s natural ability to produce oil. On top of this, it moisturizes and nourishes the hair and this is why it is widely used for hair -and beard, care products.

Another one is argan oil, that has moisturizing properties, rich with vitamin E and it’s the perfect ingredient for hair care products.

Besides the properties that each carrier oil gives to your beard balm, they also “carry” the essential oils. Essential oils have high acidity which could be harmful to your skin and without the carrier oils you wouldn’t be able to have any of them in your beard balm recipe.

You can make thousands combinations of carrier oils with different proportions to give your beard balm all these properties you want it to have. All you need is to experiment and find the perfect match. That’s the beauty in this DIY beard balm recipe guide.

Carrier oils are relatively easy to find.

You can even find them in local supermarkets, aromatherapy shops and online retailers.

When you’re searching for carrier oils, make sure you check a few things such as expiration date, color of bottle (prefer amber since it blocks UV rays). Moreover, the room or shelves where the oils are located shouldn’t be warmer than regular room temperature.

Most used carrier oils to think about for your beard balm:

Sweet almond oil

Avocado oil

Argan oil

Black seed oil

Castor oil

Coconut oil

Grapeseed oil

Hazelnut oil

Hemp seed oil

Jojoba oil

Kukui nut oil

Macadamia nut oil

Mango oil

Olive oil

Papaya Seed Oil

Watermelon seed oil

If you’re just starting out and you want to experiment with different carrier oils, you can get a product bundle such as the following.

Essential oils for manly scent

This type of oils are the ones that will spice things up for your beard balm.

A combination of different oils can give you all kinds of scents and on top of that, many of them carry valuable vitamins.

Just like in beard oils, essential oils have the lowest concentration in the mix due to their acidity and their strong scents. Only a few drops of each one of them is enough to give your beard balm this extra twist.

The use of essential oils in cosmetics isn’t something new and many products contain them due to their excellent properties. Common essential oils fight conditions like dandruff, eczema, hair and skin dryness, acne, oily skin and many others.

There are hundreds of different essential oils to choose from and each one of them will add an additional property and scent to your beard balm recipe.

No wonder why essential oils are broadly used in aromatherapy.

Few popular essential oils to choose from:

Allspice Oil

Angelica Oil

Anise Oil

Basil Oil

Bergamot Oil

Bitter almond Oil

Black pepper Oil

Camomile Oil

Cardamom Oil

Cassia Oil

Cedarwood Oil

Cinnamon Oil

Citronella Oil

Coriander Oil

Dill Oil

Eucalyptus Oil

Fennel Oil

Frankincense Oil

Ginger Oil

Grapefruit Oil

Jasmine Oil

Lavender Oil

Lemon Oil

Lemongrass Oil

Lime Oil

Mandarin Oil

Manuka Oil

Myrrh Oil

Myrtle Oil

Niaouli Oil

Oakmoss Oil

Orange Oil

Oregano Oil

Patchouli Oil

Peppermint Oil

Pine Oil

Rose Oil

Rosemary Oil

Rosewood Oil

Sandalwood Oil

Spearmint Oil

Tangerine Oil

Tea Tree Oil

Thyme Oil

Vanilla Oil

If you’re not sure what essential oils you need, I would recommend buying an essential oil starter kit that allows you to experiment.

By optional, I mean that you don’t necessarily need those if you’re planning to make small dosages of beard balm. If you want to take things one step further and produce larger amounts, I highly advise you to purchase them for higher accuracy.

Let’s see why you need each one of them and how you’re going to use them.

Pot or pan

When we begin with the instructions, you’ll see that you have to melt the butters and beeswax before you steer and put them in a container.

If you don’t want to mess up any of your pots or pans, it’s better to purchase something specifically for the beard balm recipe.

Unless you prefer your pasta a bit waxy…

Having said that, there are pouring pitchers designed for candlemaking and this would be the perfect product to melt your ingredients.

Kitchen scale

This is probably something that is already inside your cupboards. You’ll need a kitchen scale in order to accurately measure the butters and beeswax you need for your recipe. And you really don’t want to mess up with the beeswax portions.

In case you don’t have a precision scale in your kitchen, you can always have a look at this one.

Containers for the balm

Once you are done making your beard balm, you’ll want to pour it in a small container where it’s going to cool off, become solid and ready to be used the next day.

The safest container in which you can pour the beard balm is an aluminium tin. Glass or metal container might not be the perfect solution when you pour the hot beard balm. Glass may shatter and plastic might melt. Choose wisely.

Screwtop tins

Eye dropper

Normally, the carrier and essential oils you purchase have lids and caps with integrated eye dropper.

It’s very useful for accurate dosages and especially with the essentials oils, precision is paramount. A few extra drops of tea tree oil is more than enough to give you a disgusting beard balm.

Labels

Even if you’re planning to make a small production of beard balm, it would be cool to name your product and very useful to add its ingredients. Not to mention that it looks great if you want to give it to someone as a gift.

You want to sell it? Even better!

Try to get self adhesive stickers to make your life easier. You can either try to print them out yourself or use a professional printer for better results.

Optional Items

Most of the optional items I included are meant to be used when you want to create larger amounts of beard balm.

With such products you can be more precise when you make the oil transfers and have accurate dosages for your mix.

As for the gift sack, it’s kinda self explanatory. Use it if you want to sell your beard balm or simply when you want to give a nicely wrapped gift to your friends who care about grooming their beards.

How to make beard balm recipe step by step

Making your own beard balm isn’t very complicated. It might take a little bit more time than making a beard oil but it’s almost as simple as that.

The idea behind making a beard balm is that you need to use approximately 65-70% beeswax and butters and the remaining 30-35% with carrier oils and a few drops of essential oils.

Depending on how strong hold you want from the beard balm, try to play a bit with the percentage of beeswax in your mix. The higher the amount, the stronger the hold. Try not to put too much since you won’t have a beard balm anymore but more like a permanent glue.

Step 1

First thing you want to do is prepare the portions of all the ingredients and materials you want to use. Make sure you’ve got everything ready so you don’t search anything while your mix is heated or slowly gets solid.

Step 2

This is the trickiest part.

Place the beeswax and butter in the pot and start warming them up.

We discussed already that it’s better to use a pot that it’s either meant for candlemaking or one that you wouldn’t plan to cook with it ever again.

Low fire is more than enough for both ingredients to melt quickly and easily.

You don’t want to warm it up so much until it boils. Otherwise you’re all set to prepare another batch i.e. all your effort goes wasted.

While your wax and butter is melting, it wouldn’t hurt stirring the mix every few seconds.

Step 3

Once everything is liquid in the pot, take it away from heat.

While your mix is still warm, add your preferred carrier and essential oils and stir. Make sure that your mix isn’t solid before you add your oils.

You don’t need to stir for hours, 20 seconds will be more than enough.

Step 4

When you’re done stirring, pour the liquid mix in the tins. As already recommended, aluminium tins are preferred to other material for safety and convenience.

Step 5

If you already finished pouring the liquid beard balm in the tin, your job is almost done.

Leave it overnight to thicken and in the morning you’re ready to apply your new homemade beard balm on your glorious beard!

Step 6

Enjoy!

As promised, it wasn’t that hard after all, right?

Choose your favorite beard balm recipe

Besides experimenting with your own beard balm recipe, you can also try and prepare a few that are already made and tested from other fellow bloggers.

The following homemade beard balms are only a few that I was able to collect. Feel free to try them out and let me know how it goes.

If you’ve got a recipe of your own and you would like to share it with me, leave a comment with the ingredients and dosages and I will include it in this article.

Happy cooking!

The Manliness Kit Recipe

2 tbsp Beeswax

3 tbsp Shea butter

3 tsp Jojoba oil

2 tsp Argan oil

3 drops tea tree oil

2 drops of Bergamot essential oil

TE Whiskey and Woodsmoke

2 Tbsp beeswax, coarsely chopped

2 Tbsp shea butter

1 Tbsp cocoa butter

3 tsp jojoba oil

2 tsp sweet almond oil

1/8 tsp bourbon oil

4-8 drops cedar essential oil

1 drop rosemary essential oil

SS Beard balm recipe

2 tbsp of beeswax

4 tbsp of coconut oil

2 tbsp of shea butter

5 tbsp of almond oil

10 drops of your favorite essential oil

TD Manly homemade beard balm recipe

1/4 cup shea butter

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 tablespoons sweet almond oil

2 tablespoons cacao butter

2 tablespoons beeswax pastilles

20 drops Believe

14 drops Sacred Frankincense

5 drops Clove

TRS DIY beard balm recipe Sweet & Woodsy

2 tbsp of beeswax

2 tbsp of jojoba oil

1 tbsp of shea butter

1 tbsp of 100% argan oil

4-5 drops of vitamin E oil (optional)

8 drops of Idaho Blue Spruce essential oil

6 drops of Valor essential oil blend

4 drops of Frankincense essential oil

2 drops of Rosemary essential oil

2 drops of Bergamot essential oil

4 out of 5 beard balm recipes were found on the below blogs and websites.

Wet shaving enthusiast, ex-beard wearer and proud blogger of the Manliness Kit. Besides my interest in man grooming, I'm also a gadget geek (where most of my spare income goes), and passionate football (soccer) fan. I've got a beautiful girlfriend who puts up with me and my hobbies on daily basis and for that, I 'm very grateful.

54 Responses

This isn’t a problem. Butters are used in the mix to spread the beard balm and help it melt when you rub it in your hands. With this in mind, you can try using cocoa, mango or coconut oil as a substitute or even a mix of these three. Coconut oil however, should have the lowest percentage in your mix of butters since it’s in solid state in lower temperatures than the butters. Experiment with different percentages of butters and the result will be great.

Hey sk, thanks for commenting. This is really trial and error. Nevertheless, you should pay attention to the amount of essential oils you put in the mix. Only a few drops are more than enough to give your balm these extra vitamins and scent.

Hi Kerry, thanks for your comment. That’s no silly question at all. The shelf life heavily depends on the butters and oils you’re going to use. That being said, beeswax doesn’t have any expiration date and normally, most oils have a shelf life between 1 and 3 years. To be honest, a batch of 6 would last for something like 1-2 years even with a daily use.

If you add the oil from 1 or 2 capsules of high quality Vitamin E to your beard balm it acts as a preservative give your balm longer shelf life. Also you can always store your extra tins in the frig to keep them fresh until your ready to use them.

Another tip I would share is to ensure you don’t over heat your wax and butters is to use a double boiler system. I use a regular sauce pot with water and a glass bowl to melt the wax and butters.

I note that you do not specify which type of Shea Butter but you link to sites for raw / unrefined shea butter. I have never used that product. Doesn’t it have an odor? Will refined shea butter work just as well?

Thank your comment. Shea butter doesn’t have odor and combined with unscented ingredients will work just fine. I link to unrefined ingredients since these are the ones that haven’t undergo any chemical purification to increase shelf life. It’s the purest form really.

Now, if you want unscented beard balm, you can use beeswax, shea and cocoa butter, carrier oils such as jojoba, argan, coconut oil (any of these or a combination) and Vitamin E. From all these ingredients, you’ll notice that only beeswax has some natural odor when you first apply it on your beard but after a few minutes, there’ll be no scent.

Awesome article! Kick-ass info! I own a candle company and have started making other natural products as well. Beard balm is something that I would love to start making but I just had to comment on the Shea Butter. It truly is a fabulous product – and yes, the unrefined is the best way to go because of how many valuable minerals and nutrients are lost in the refining process. A lot of candle makers and ppl who make skin products (lotions, butters, balms etc..) would rather use the refined version. ONLY because of the nutty smell that unrefined shea has. It’s very odd though, I have gotten several different batches/orders of Shea and they all have a slightly different smell. The choice to use the refined is crazy to me – especially if you are going to make a product that is supposed to be good for your skin…wouldn’t you WANT to have the unrefined, keeping as many of the nutrients and minerals you could and make the best product possible for your skin?!?! Sorry! turned into a mini rant! LOL! I started using Shea when I started my Lotion Candles – I just find awesome scents that will work with the Shea, smell phenomenal on your skin, and while burning!!! Thanks for adding the recipes also! I was beginning to wonder if you were going to while reading the article! 😉

I’m thinking about going my own route because I can’t find that one balm that I need to do it all. I’m a big fan of “Beard Balm” out of Detroit, MI, but not so much their scent. I love how it makes my beard feel, and I’m pretty sure it’s because of the lanolin in the balm. The scent, I could take or leave, they do have an unscented variety. But, there is this scent from The Detroit Grooming Company (DGC) called “Corktown” that I REALLY love. They have a butter, but I’m not thrilled with the way it makes my beard feel. I would love to marry these two, but don’t know how. I know the secrets to both (lanolin in the balm, and tobacco scent (Pipe not green) in the Corktown. Would it be feasible to mix the unscented Detroit Balm, and the Corktown? Or would it make more sense to do my own and try to find exactly which tobacco scent they used?

Hey Mario, thanks for the comment. Personally, I would buy the essential oils that these companies are using (as long as you know them) and experiment with different blends until I get the desired result. Once you get the scent, the rest is pretty simple.

Hello, just did this my first time yesterday. My first batch came out really greasy and was wondering if I can just remedy it and add another butter to make it more creamy and which ingredient would help me to get that co sister you I’m looking for?

Here was my original mixture:
1 fl. oz. Beeswax
.8 fl. oz. Shea Butter
.8 fl. oz. Cocoa Butter
1 fl. oz. Grape seed Oil
Tea Tree and Eucalyptus essential oils
This mixture came out extremely greasy. I added 1 fl. oz. of Coconut Oil. This made the mixture much easier to handle and more lotionie (<– not an actual word lol).
I do have one critique. In the beginning of your article everything is bought in weight (fl. oz.). Then you switch over to volume measurements (Tbsp.). I found it was easier to put an empty dish on my scale and zero the scale out then measure everything by weight. Using volume the butters and beeswax has to be melted then measured. Seems to be an extra unneeded step. However, what's easier for me does not mean it's easier for others.

I have seen bourbon cologne oil but I’ve also seen geranium bourbon essential oil. I’m a bourbon guy and want to use a bourbon oil in my beard balms and oils. Where can I find a bourbon oil and does it go by any other name? I’m guessing it’s not necessarily an essential, correct?

Hey JB, before you posted your comment, I had no clue where to search for bourbon oil. I searched on google “bourbon essential oil”, and I found a few variations -if not the same. Let me know how it goes.

Hey Eric. The initial investment might seem a bit steep but bear in mind that you’re making more than one balm at a time. The cost per balm should be way lower than a branded product. Let me know how it goes!

If one goes a little OTT with the essential oils (you mention that its very easy to ruin a batch with just a couple of drops too many) is it possible to melt the balm down to a liquid again and add more of the wax/butter/oil mix -basically diluting the essential oils. Within reason, obviously.

Currently working beard balms to sell. I a, running into one problem though, after I put in the essential oils (bergamot, cedarwood, patchouli, and black pepper) and the balm cools, the oils arent as noticable as the beeswax smell is. Is there anyway to remedy this?

Without knowing the total ingredients it’s hard to tell what’s the best solution. It might be a good idea to increase the amount of essential oils you put in. Do you actually notice the scent from the essential oils? And if so, is it already strong?

I’ve made three batches so far, with different measures of the ingredients, but all I smell is the scent of shea butter.

(I doubled up on my shea butter on the ingredients listed above because, when I made my first batch, I went with .5 oz beeswax and .5 oz shea butter, and, after it cooled, it was extremely hard to get out a smear from the tin)

My goal is to have medium hardness out of the tin, reduce the smell of shea butter, and to be able to smell the essential oils.

Hey Johnny, this seems like a solid recipe. I would recommend adding cocoa and/or avocado butter so that you reduce the shea. Normally, cocoa doesn’t have any scent and this might do the trick. Let me know how it goes.

Morning John, great article. Like others on here, we are looking to add beard balm to our product line. I have found numerous articles and recipe’s for various balms, Made our first batch yesterday, here is the recipe we used:

Wanted to go with something fairly basic for the first go round. Melting went great, no boiling at all, added the oils and actually ended up with 4 drops of Cedarwood Oil in the mixture. Ended up with 8 2oz tins from this particular recipe. Here’s my 2 concerns, the balm is extremely hard, you run your finger across it and it has no give to it at all. Im assuming this is the beeswax creating this. Second, even with the 4 drops of Cedarwood oil, all we can smell is the beeswax. What would your suggestion be to remedy this? Thanks in advance for the advice!

Hey Brian, thanks for your comment. The hard texture of the balm is (as you guessed it) because of the amount of beeswax. I wouldn’t consider it an issue as long as it melts easily when you rub it between your palms. If that doesn’t happen, try changing the proportions of butter and wax. Maybe you can consider adding cocoa butter in addition to shea butter. From my balms I found out that cocoa butter helps a lot with the spreading. As for the beeswax scent, it’s hard to get rid of it and your best bet is to mask it. Maybe you can try changing the beeswax brand as there’s a chance that others might smell less. I’ve done several tests with balms and I found that certain essential oils react differently when it comes to masking scent of beeswax. Maybe you can try a different blend of essential oils? Just a thought…

Hey man working on a recipe
2 tablespoons of shea
1 1/2 tablespoons of coconut butter
1 teaspoon of almond/grape seed. I swap them out
Then my EOs
My issue is that it stays greasy. Melts to the touch but once you put it on, its no longer balm just straight oil.
I used “Freash Beards” a lot they say they do t use beeswax. Any idea how they do that and still keep a hard butter consistenty? Or how I can make mine more of a matte finish and less oily? Would I need to add more shea?

The reason why your recipe feels greasy is most probably due to the amount of shea butter. A small amount of beeswax might give you the right consistency. As for the brand that you mentioned, I haven’t heard of them but from my understanding, they found the proper ratio of shea/coconut. It must be much softer than a balm made with beeswax. Does that one feel greasy?

Hey man, I started making my beard balm after reading. My question is, do you have any specific essential oils to make my beard balm smells like a forest? Relaxing, with a little hint of wood and peppermint.

I just made my first batch of balm and I am having the same issue as others, the Shea butter smell is overriding the fragrance and essential oils that I have blended with it. I know that refined Shea is the way to go but the smell is too strong!! Any other thoughts or options out there to increase the fragrances that I want to add?

Hi! I was so excited to find this site! So many great recipes to try. I made the one with Shea, coconut oil, beeswax, almond oil and then added a hemp hand oil instead of essential oil as my hubby loves the scent of it. It is a very strong scent as an oil and I added quite a bit of it, but still all we smell is the coconut oil… I find that the coconut oil overpowers all other scents in any balms I make. Is this normal?

Hi Gini, thanks for your kind words. You may replace the coconut oil with a bit of cocoa or avocado butter. Depending on the amount of coconut oil in your balm it might overpower the other scents. If you feel that the scent of coconut oil is strong, you can always adjust the recipe by melting the balm and adding additional ingredients.

Hi John, you refer to using beeswax and/or desired butter in tablespoon/teaspoon measurements. When using bar beeswax (a solid) and a butter (which lets for conversation call a semi solid) how are you accurately getting tablespoon/teaspoon measurements?

Hi Alex, thanks for the comment. You can use beeswax beads so that you can measure the amount of beeswax more accurately. Personally, I also google the phrase “tablespoons to ounces” and our friend google gives us a calculator. I hope that helps.

I very much enjoyed reading this. Thanks for writing it 🙂 I wanted to ask. Can I use a double boiler for melting the butter and wax? I read you said to use a pot you don’t plant on using again but was wondering why I couldn’t do a double boiler.
Thanks!

***Also. I know this is old but, might I suggest using mango butter for those of you not keen to the smells of shea and cocoa? I make body butters and find that cocoa and shea unless refined will have a strong smell and even then the refined versions are scented. Mango butter is also rich with nutrients but barely smells like anything. The butter comes from the mango pit and not the actual meaty fruit so it doesn’t smell like mango at all.

I think that this could be a great idea. Although I’ve never done this before, mango might do the trick. You can also use avocado butter which is a very common ingredient in many balm recipes -beard balm, lip balm etc.

Hi!
Amazing article I got a lot of information from this. I did have a question come up though. When making oils and balms would it be okay to premix essential oils (leaving out the carrier oil’s) until I was ready to make a new batch of beard oil or balm?
Example: I find a mix of essential oils that I like but decide that I will use that for my next batch in say a week from now. Will it ruin anything by me keeping those premixed? I figure if I decide to make a large quantity over time if my essentials were already mixed when it was time to create my product it would come out consistently the same over time. Thanks in advance for your response.

Also, I have watched a few videos on doing balms and it seems it is popular that before the balm completely dries people like to whip it to add air. What do you think about this technique?
-J

Premixed oils are great, no need to worry about that. However, pay attention to their PAO and shelf life. If PAO of essential oils is like a year, then it means that once you open their respective bottles, they don’t lose their scent/properties during that period. So, feel free to premix them 🙂

I’m not sure if the whipping is for air or just mixing the ingredients well enough before it gets hard. Without being 100% sure, I don’t think it makes any difference when everything is melted and steered properly in the pot.

Would it be a good idea to premix essential oils and save for later use? This would allow me to add the carrier oil’s at a later time with my premixed essentials. Would this effect the balm in any negative way?
Also I have seen some people whisk their balm as it is close to drying as to introduce air into it. How do you feel this effects the balm any pro’s or cons to doing it that way instead of just letting the balm sit until dry?